Lace for shoes and other articles



Feb. 9, 1965 R. D. SMITH 3, 68,

LACE FOR SHOES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed April 11 1963 INVENTOR. 5 055161D. SMITH United States Patent 3,168,769 LACE FOR SHOES AND OTHERARTICLES Robert ll). Smith, 2742 E. Tremont Ave, Bronx, N51. Filed Apr.11, 1963, Ser. No. 272,360 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-440) This invention relatesgenerally to laces. More specifically it relates to shoe laces, corsetlaces and the like.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a lace havingself-contained means whereby the lace ends will at all times remainequal in length.

It is generally well known by almost all persons that in the repetitiousdaily tying up and untying of ones shoe laces, the lace ends eventuallybecome of unequal length due to the alternate tugging thereupon andloosening thereof. Such situation becomes annoying because a person mustthen move a portion of the longer end through all the lace'holes of theshoe to add the length of such portion to the opposite shorter end.

Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide alace which will permanently remain in stationary position relative to ashoe at its longitudinally center position and whereby the lace will notbe eventually entirely pulled toward one end.

Still another object is to provide a lace which will not become twistedand make an unsightly appearance, it being observed that such twistingis caused by longitudinal movement of a lace through the lacing holes.Accordingly, the present lace will remain untwisted, be more comfortableand make a neat appearance.

A still further object is to provide a lace adaptable for shoes, corsetsand other garments.

A still further object is to provide a lace that is ornamental in designand which will offer a trend for a new style.

Other objects are to provide a lace which will wear longer, isinexpensive to produce, and easy to use in centering thereof upon agarment or shoe.

These and other objects will be readily apparent upon a study of thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a lace shown fragmentarily and shownincorporating the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a shoe showing the inventionincorporated therewith.

FIGURE 4 is a side edge view showing a modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a top elevation view thereof.

FIGURE 6 is a top elevation view showing a further modified form of theinvention.

FIGURE 7 is a similar view of still another form of the invention, and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of still another form of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing in detail the numeral 10 represents a laceaccording to the present invention wherein there is a main body member11 and a bow member 12.

The main body member comprises a length of lace 13 made fromconventional lacing material. As shown in the drawing it may be of flattype having a fiat upper Fatenteel Feb. 9, 1955 and lower side 14 with arelatively thin side edge 15. A metal tip 16 is affixed each end 17thereof.

The bow member shown in FIGURES l to 5 is made from similar lacingmaterial and comprises a pair of loops l7, tails 18 and a knot 19. Asshown in FIGURE 1, the bow may be attached to the main body by a singlerow i stitch 20 made diagonally as shown or transversely across theelements as preferred. In FIGURES 4 and 5, a pair of spaced apart rowsof stitching 21 are shown to further limit the longitudinal movement ofa lace respective to the lacing holes. Rivets can be used instead(FIGURE 6).

If preferred, various other objects may be attached to the main bodyinstead of a bow or may be incorporated with a bow. FIGURE 6 shows abutton or buckle 22. FIGURE 7 shows a varied type of bow material whichmay be in a variety of tones to match a pair or" shoes or the like.FIGURE 8 shows costume jewelry 23 affixed to a bow and main body. Inevery representation a large object is afiixed to a lace to *blockmovement thereof through either of the adjacent openings 24 in a shoe 25or other garment.

In operative use the lace is laced to an object with the bow between thecenter openings thereof, from which position it will not move and eachlace end is laced thereafter in conventional manner.

Thus there has been shown a lace that will maintain both ends in equallength, and which will not twist.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claim.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a lace for shoes or the like, the combination of a length of flatlacing, said lacing having shielded tips at each opposite end to aid theintroduction of said tips into the lacing openings of a shoe or thelike, said lacing having a flexible bow at the midpoint between theopposite longitudinal ends of said lacing for preventing longitudinalmovement of said lace through lacing holes of a shoe, said how being onone side of said flat lacing and being afiixecl to said lacing by a pairof rows of stitching, each of said rows f stitching extendingtransversely across said lacing at positions between the said midpointand one of said longitudinal ends, said bow comprising a folded lengthof lacing having a loop and a terminal end on each side of a centralknot, said stitching extending on each side of said knot, each of saidloops being in longitudinal alignment with said lacing and said loopsextending unattached over said lacing for the purpose of covering anadjacent said lacing opening of a shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS578,066 Munsell Mar. 2, 1897 647,824 Girtanner Apr. 17, 1900 931,949Morrow Aug. 24, 1909 1,058,345 Berkstresser Apr. 8, 1913 2,022,554Williams Nov. 26, 1935 2,230,915 Spiro Feb. 4, 1941

